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A eugenic tendency to suppress the “unborn with some imperfection” is the product of a “narcissistic and utilitarian vision,” says Pope Francis.
Speaking to an international conference entitled “Catechesis and Persons with Disabilities: A Necessary Engagement in the Daily Pastoral Life of the Church” last Saturday, Francis said he is concerned that a mentality of “rejection” prevails, as if people with disabilities weren’t capable of being happy.
He condemned the “eugenic tendency” and the egotistic perspective that leads many people to marginalise those with disabilities.
The human and spiritual wealth of people with disabilities is being overlooked, Francis told the conference participants.
“Too many people still reject people with disabilities, as if it prevented them from being happy and fulfilled,” he said.
“Proof of it is the eugenic tendency to suppress the unborn who have some form of imperfection.”
Francis has often spoken out against abortion, which he calls a “scourge”. In his view, it is similar to the “brutal tactics of the Mafia”.
“At a cultural level, there are still expressions that undermine the dignity of [people with disabilities], due to the prevalence of a false conception of life,” Francis said.
In addition, Francis said it’s “a dangerous deception” to think that only people with disabilities are vulnerable. Quoting a girl he met during his recent trip to Colombia, the pope said that vulnerability is part of the human experience.
Instead of taking the eugenic view, Francis suggests people should seek love as the answer to their concerns about people with disabilities: not the “fake one, deceitful and pious, but the real one, concrete and respectful.”
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